On March 12, Clarke County School District Interim Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas announced that CCSD would be canceling school for one week, starting March 16, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Thomas’ announcement followed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s recommendation for Georgia schools to suspend all learning for up to two weeks. “We will re-evaluate next Thursday, March 19th, to determine if continued closing is needed. During this closing, there will be no extracurricular activities, sports, school events, or field trips,” Thomas announced in a systemwide email. “As additional information and guidance are provided, updates will be shared.” Photo by Krista Shumaker
Many school systems in Georgia, including the Clarke County School District, will suspend classes in an effort to contain and limit the spread of COVID-19.
Updated March 16, 2020
On March 12, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp held a press conference to address the outbreak of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, within the state of Georgia. Kemp encouraged school districts to take action to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Given the rise of the coronavirus cases, I’m going to issue a call to action for community leaders, educational leaders and childcare providers across our state. If you feel that it is prudent, you should consider closing daycares, schools or school districts as early as tomorrow, through the next two weeks,” Kemp said during the press conference. “I want to emphasize that this is not a mandate. At this point, we believe that local decision making is the right course of action. Regardless of whether you stay open or decide to close, we will support that decision.”
“At this point, we believe that local decision making is the right course of action. Regardless of whether you stay open or decide to close, we will support that decision.”
— Brian Kemp,
Georgia Governor
Following Kemp’s recommendation, the University System of Georgia responded with guidance for its institutions. Locally, the University of Georgia released a message to its campus community announcing it would suspend classes for two weeks.
“Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, all University System of Georgia institutions will temporarily suspend instruction for two weeks to allow time for USG institutions to test their business continuity plans and online instruction modules and for state officials to continue to assess the current situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) in Georgia,” Teresa MacCartney, the USG Executive Vice Chancellor of Administration, said in the message.
Dr. John Campbell, an Associate Professor of Accounting at the UGA Terry College of Business, feels that there were multiple reasons for the interruption of classes.
“My personal view is that the suspension was due to two factors. First, (UGA) had to do something. All of our peer institutions in surrounding states had already done something about (the coronavirus),” Campbell said. “Second, the University System of Georgia had to make a decision for all of its many campuses — UGA is just one of them. The faculty at all these institutions had probably been in various states of preparedness for transitioning to online teaching. So, two weeks gave them time to get all campuses up to speed to transition online if that is what ends up being necessary.”
“The University System of Georgia had to make a decision for all of its many campuses — UGA is just one of them.”
— Dr. John Campbell,
Associate Professor of Accounting
Georgia State University in Atlanta was also affected by the pandemic. For 2019 CCHS graduate, Charles Kurian, a freshman at GSU, the plan to move to online teaching will require an adjustment.
“I like learning through a classroom environment. It’s just easier to understand the material for me, so the move to online classes could affect how my learning progresses,” Kurian said.
In the hours after Kemp’s press conference, districts from around the state, such as Gwinnett County, Barrow County, Fulton County and Oconee County began to close. Clarke County School District Interim Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas sent an email out to staff, parents and students with a local decision including the CCSD in the initiative to close schools.
For varsity soccer player and sophomore Eleanor Mathews, the school closure has both academic and athletic implications.
An email sent out March 12 by Clarke County School District Interim Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas states the district’s plan to close all schools in the district for a week because of COVID-19. This announcement comes after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s press conference where he addressed provided advice on how to try and keep the virus from spreading. “(The government is) hearing from people in every region of Georgia asking us for advice (about COVID-19). In many ways our message continues to stay the same,” Kemp said during the press conference. “We would like to ask people to continue to follow best practices of your help with regular hand washing, avoiding large events if you’re sick, and let me remind everyone that this information continues to be available through the (Center for Disease Control) and the Department of Health.”
“I know myself and I know a lot about other people and most of the work is not going to get done. I’m probably gonna fall behind (academically), not gonna lie, ” Mathews said. “(For) a bunch of people, their (sports) seasons are getting short. You only get four seasons to play high school sports. I know it sucks for the seniors and stuff. We take it seriously (because) it’s (the) only time for a lot of people to be able to play because a lot of people don’t play in college or continue (playing).”
Clarke Central High School English department teacher Jennifer Tesler agrees with Thomas’s decision and plans to adjust her curriculum accordingly.
“I think (closing the schools is) a good idea. I think CCSD made the right decision,” Tesler said. “(The) administration will discuss (changing lesson plans) soon. It’s good to have a plan and it’s good to know when to make the adjustments.”
CCHS parent Bryn Adamson also supports the district’s decision to close schools for a week.
“(Closing the schools is) all about flattening the curve, which really took me a hot minute to grasp, but we want that line to stop going up. The less people are together, the flatter it will get,” Adamson said.
While she agrees with the intent of the decision, Adamson has questions about the impact for students and families in the CCSD community.
“My worry is logistics. What if (students) can’t go back (to school)? What will that look like? My daughter is having the best academic year of her life, and I’d hate for that to be interrupted,” Adamson said. “What about the students who count on school as their only secure space for food and shelter and stability? What happens to them with nowhere to go?”
“What about the students who count on school as their only secure space for food and shelter and stability? What happens to them with nowhere to go?”
— Bryn Adamson,
CCHS parent
In response to concerns about students who rely on school meals, CCSD Communications Manager Beth Moore sent out a press release on March 14.
“(CCSD) will provide free meals to students during the closure caused by the COVID-19 virus. The district will offer meals for pick up at two school sites as well as neighborhood hubs,” Moore said in the release. “Students will receive a breakfast and lunch meal. (The) service will begin Tuesday, March 17.”
Corporate America is also reacting to the impact of COVID-19. Charter Communications has set up an offer to give households with students free broadband and Wi-Fi for the next 60 days.
Newsela founder and CEO Matthew Gross sent out an email on March 13 informing educators that all of Newsela’s products will be available for no cost through the rest of the school year. Gross is providing free access to help teachers instruct their students digitally during the COVID-19 crisis. “We decided to offer this expanded access to every teacher, regardless of whether their schools have closed, because we want you to have certainty about the resources available to you as you develop and execute plans to teach students remotely,” Gross wrote in the email. “Preparations for school closures can’t wait, and we know that lessons and activities that take place at home during closures need to continue if schools reopen later this spring.”
“Charter will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps,” the press release read.
The instructional content platform Newsela has also announced plans to support instruction during the outbreak. Founder and CEO Matthew Gross sent an email to educators on March 15 addressing plans to provide access and equity of instruction and resources on his platform.
“We want to support you however we can, starting with this: we are making Newsela’s entire product suite available to all teachers, free of charge, through the end of the school year,” Gross said in the email.
On March 14, Kemp declared a public health state of emergency due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia.
“Based on President Trump (declaring a national emergency), I will declare a public health emergency for the state of Georgia. This declaration will greatly assist health in emergency management officials across Georgia by deploying all available resources for mitigation and treatment of COVID-19,” Kemp said during a state-wide address. “(This) is a more specialized form of a state of emergency and allows for a more robust response to a crisis, specifically in the healthcare sector.”
Following that announcement, on March 16 Kemp signed another executive order closing all K-12 schools and universities March 18 through March 31.
“In consultation with the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force and local, state and federal education, health and emergency preparedness officials, I have determined that closing all elementary, secondary and post-secondary public schools in Georgia is a necessary and appropriate action to protect the health, safety and welfare of Georgia’s residents and visitors to help control the spread of COVID-19 throughout this state,” Kemp said in the order.
“I have determined that closing all elementary, secondary and post-secondary public schools in Georgia is a necessary and appropriate action to protect the health, safety and welfare of Georgia’s residents and visitors.”
— Brian Kemp,
Georgia Governor
Outside of the immediate impact on education, Mathews feels the COVID-19 outbreak is troubling.
“It’s kind of scary to think about because it doesn’t really feel real honestly, but it is real and that’s the scary thing. It seems like something that’s come out of a movie but it’s happening in real life now,” Mathews said. “The other day my mom went to the store and there’s barely any groceries just because everyone’s raiding everything, like (it is) the world apocalypse. It is kind of scary.”
The CCSD will be posting additional information on its website. As this story develops, the ODYSSEY Media Group will continue to provide updates.
*As of March 16, there are three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Clarke County.
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